THE PRESENTATION OF YEAR 2016 BUDGET PROPOSAL TO THE ENUGU STATE HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY BY HIS EXCELLENCY, THE GOVERNOR OF ENUGU STATE, RT. HONOURABLE IFEANYI UGWUANYI ON 23RD DECEMBER, 2015.

PROTOCOLS

It is with a great sense of honour and sincere gratitude to the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob and the awesome God of David that I stand before you on this divinely appointed day, to present my maiden budget as Governor of Enugu State.

Mr Speaker, Honourable members of the House, permit me to start by congratulating you on your victory in the elections that ushered you into this hallowed Assembly and also thank you for the good work and the support that you have been giving my administration as we seek the actualization of our common purpose of transforming the socio-economic fortunes of our dear State and consequently that of our people.

This occasion also presents me the opportunity to once again, thank Ndi Enugu; the true heroes of democracy, for their support and cooperation and for the prayers they have continued to offer on our behalf since inception.

Mr Speaker, I wish to present before this honourable House, the 2016 budget estimates which we have tagged; “Budget of Stability and Consolidation”. The budget is so named because it is intended to help us find our way through the current economic difficulties that the nation is passing through while ensuring the seamless continuity and consolidation of the progressive policies and programmes of government that we promised our people. It is also among others, intended to enable us create jobs through agriculture, entrepreneurship and investment; increase the tempo of infrastructural development across the state; sustain the comparatively high level of security in the state; fortify and revitalize our educational institutions; reinvigorate the health sector to enable us achieve our aspiration of turning Enugu into the choice destination for medical treatment in Nigeria and indeed; generally restore Enugu to its status as the capital of the south east, the capital of Ndi Igbo.

REVIEW OF YEAR 2015 BUDGET

Before I present the 2016 Budget Estimates, permit me to review the implementation of the 2015 budget so as to draw vital lessons that will guide our approach on how best to implement the 2016 budget. The current budget is peculiar in that the implementation was started by the previous administration and is being completed by the present administration.

Mr. Speaker, I make bold to say that the 2015 budget was consistent with our development framework designed to impact positively on the lives of our people across the entire State.

I wish to state that our dreams and aspirations towards improving the living standards of the people of Enugu State by providing them quality services and infrastructure was challenged by dwindling economic resources accruing to the State, especially from the Federally accruable revenues. This is to be expected, given the global fall of oil prices in the World Oil Market, from which the Nation derives the bulk of her financial resources. It is not surprising therefore; that the State’s receipts from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) in the 2015 fiscal year fell by about 50% of what it was in the previous year. With the declining trend in the World Oil Market, the situation is expected to degenerate even further in the subsequent years. We therefore, owe it as an obligation to ourselves to reduce our dependence on that source of revenue by looking inwards to sources that exist within the State. In spite of the constraint mentioned above, we still utilised the available resources judiciously to deliver on our campaign promises to our people. We also embarked on several programs of reforms in critical areas of development and I am glad to inform you that these reforms are already yielding the desired results.

Mr Speaker, may I at this juncture, quickly go straight to highlight some of the major milestones we were able to achieve in the course of the few months we have been in office.

ECONOMIC ADVISORY Committee

Conscious of the precarious state of the nation’s economy and the challenges it poses to our developmental objectives, we set up an Economic Advisory Committee consisting of eminent sons and daughters of the state and other states, to advise government on the best policies that will engender sustainable growth and development for the state. I am glad to inform you that the State is already benefiting from the rich repository of experience, knowledge, goodwill, influence and contacts of members of the Committee. We will soon launch a blueprint for the industrialisation and economic revival of the state. It is indeed heart-warming to note that within this short period of time, new companies and partners have entered and commenced businesses in Enugu State, employing our youths and providing essential services to our people.

INTERNALLY GENERATED REVENUE

To standardize, streamline and shore up our Internally Generated Revenue as part of our efforts to navigate through the current economic difficulties, we have set up a team to design a blueprint for the collection of revenue which we believe will help eliminate corruption and illegal collections. We are already working towards the enactment of a Property Tax Law and other revenue related laws that will regulate revenue collection in the State and ensure that Government gets its full due from various that taxes that are in force in the state.

WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE

From the inception of this Administration on 29th May, 2015, we made our intentions clear that this Government would, in line with global standard practices, sustain the laudable intervention strategies that were already in place. Thus, we continued to give priority attention to constructing new roads and rehabilitating numerous others in various states of disrepair in the continued bid to reduce travel times, enhance connectivity with our rural communities and enhance economic activities in the rural communities.

In consonance with the above, we have, in the 2015 fiscal year, aggressively pursued work on the following on-going road projects, which were commenced by our predecessors:

Ø During the year, we completed the construction of Office Building for the Protocol Unit, Government House, Enugu,

Ø We also completed the renovation of 2 No blocks of classrooms and offices and other renovation works at Queens School, Enugu,

Ø During the year too, we completed repair/renovation works at the Deputy Governor’s Lodge, Enugu while work is on-going on the upgrading of the Deputy Governor’s Office, Government House, Enugu.

It is equally worthy of mention that this year, work was substantially done on the Nkwo Nike – Ugwogo – Opi Junction Road as well as 9th Mile – Nachi – Ugwuoba Boarder Road projects, which were initiated by the previous administration.

We are also doing drains, culverts, earthworks, and asphaltic wearing courses on the Ugwogo Nike-Ikem Road.

We also directed the continuous maintenance of roads in Enugu.

CIVIL SERVICE

The lofty dream of providing a world-class working environment for Civil Servants in Enugu State was conceived by the past Administration. In the year under review, Government committed huge resources to the furnishing of part of the new ultra-modern State Secretariat Complex and the new Governor’s Office. Today, the age-long dream has been accomplished, as our workers from 18 MDAs have moved into part of the Ultra-Modern Secretariat Complex.

We pledge our unqualified determination to work on the remaining parts of the State Secretariat Complex till we see it to its final conclusion, because the reputable workers of Enugu State deserve nothing but the best.

Also in line with the interest we have in the welfare of workers, we have continued the prompt payment of salaries and paid 30 percent Equity Contribution to enable interested Enugu State civil servants from Grade Level 01 to Grade Level 10, to acquire 100 units of one bedroom flats at Elim Estate, Ibagwa, Nike, Enugu. The beneficiaries of this scheme have since been selected through an open lottery system held recently at the Michael Okpara Square, Enugu. Work has also reached advanced stages at the Workers’ Estate at Ogbeke

In 2015, Government also extended its hands of fellowship to the 82 Division of the Nigerian Army by completing and handing over to them 2No. 10 units each of 4 Bedroom Terrace Duplexes with 2No 10 units of one bedroom Boys’ Quarter Bungalows.

EDUCATION

To boost the quality of the learning environment in our public secondary schools in line with the promise we made in our inaugural address, we set up an Administrative committee headed by the Deputy Governor, Her Excellency, Hon. (Mrs) Cecilia Ezeilo to look into the issue of ENSUBEB projects in our primary schools and related matters.

We have nonetheless undertaken the renovation and re-equipment of secondary and primary schools across the state to ensure that our teachers and their pupils enjoy a conducive environment for learning. We so far in this drive, renovated 50 No. Senior Secondary School buildings and provided 1,305 three-seater school desks to our public schools in the same year.

We have also made fruitful efforts to provide and improve necessary infrastructure in our Tertiary institutions and intervened to rescue the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT) from the crumbling weight of salary arrears and resultant low staff morale.

I am glad to announce that government has decided to upgrade the IMT to a degree awarding institution and has put in place the necessary machinery to enable us realize this objective, We have also taken decisive steps towards repositioning and revamping the Enugu State Polytechnic, Iwollo through our push for the revalidation of old programmes and the accreditation of five new courses by the National Board for Technical Education (NABTEB).

Disturbed by the fact that the Enugu State College of Education (Technical) has not been able to award certificates to its graduands for nine years due to non- accreditation of its courses, the State Executive Council revalidated the approval of a substantial sum of money to enable the institution scale its accreditation hurdles and be in a position to issue certificates.

HEALTH

In line with our expressed desire to turn Enugu State into a centre for medical tourism in the country, we have, among other things, continued to sustain our well acclaimed Free Maternal Health and Child Care programme while ensuring the proper equipment and staffing of existing health institutions including the six district hospitals 6 District Hospitals in Agbani, Awgu, Enugu Ezike, Isi-Uzo, Nsukka, Udi and Enugu North LGAs which were upgraded to Specialist Hospitals this year. Government also undertook the rehabilitation of clinics, wards, offices and catering units as well as the construction of security post at Emene Psychiatric Hospital and procured and delivered modern Laboratory electrolytes and full blood counting machines, birth beds, cervical traction and lunar traction machines, microtome blades, ophthalmic instruments, sterilizing machine, operation microscope, to various departments of ESUT Teaching Hospital to facilitate the re-accreditation of those departments.

We are also on the verge of completing the ultra-modern medical diagnostic centre in Enugu and have initiated the construction of three new Specialists Hospitals in the three Senatorial Zones of the State with the flag off of the scheme on a piece of land donated by communities in Udenu, Igbo-Eze North and Igbo-Eze South Local Government Areas of Enugu State.

In addition, 7 Health Centres in each of the Senatorial Zones of the State were equally renovated this year under the MDGs – CGS.

SECURITY

To ensure continued security in the State and boost economic activities, Government consciously, during the year under review, installed 2,800 No. single-arm and 2,000 No. double arm street lights within Enugu and Nsukka Urban Centres.

This administration also donated 20 No. security vans to the security agencies in the state as part of its efforts to sustain its policy of providing the agencies with the tools to combat crimes. It is already on records that Enugu has the lowest crime rate in the country and is, therefore, the safest State in Nigeria. We shall keep the flag flying.

RURAL AND AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT

As part of our rural and agricultural development initiatives, we initiated the construction of a 15-kilometre Inter-Town Connection (ITC) 2.5MVA Injection Sub-Station at Ezi-Nze, Udi Local Government Area just a few days after my assumption of office. This initiative will supply electricity to communities in Udi, Igbo-Etiti, and Uzo-Uwani Local Government Areas. It will also activate businesses in these rural communities and power the Adada Dam Project as well as the Greater Nsukka Water Scheme.

Also in line with the promise I made in my inaugural address we constituted the Enugu Renewal Committee with the mandate to create new urban areas especially at Nsukka, 9th Mile Corner which now enjoys a new status as a Free Trade Zone, Abakpa Nike, Emene and Independence Layout Phase 2 in order to reduce the pressure on Enugu Capital city and boost socio-economic activities around Enugu State.

Fully committed to ensuring that every community in the State is connected to the National Grid we have also embarked on the following efforts towards the actualising this dream:

Ø Boosting and energizing of existing of electricity networks in the 3 Senatorial Zones of the State.

Ø Extension of electricity to existing networks in rural communities in the 3 Senatorial Zones.

We pledge continue from where our predecessors stopped till the task is fully accomplished.

In the area of Agriculture, we procured 20 tractors to be hired to genuine farmers at very low rates. I also directed the release of counterpart funds for the robust participation of our State in the implementation of the N2 billion Staple Crops Processing Zone (SCPZ) programme by the African Development Bank in conjunction with the Federal Government of Nigeria. The fund will be channeled to the revival and expansion of the Adani Irrigation Scheme as well as the construction of feeder roads and other critical infrastructure that will catalyze agriculture in the State. We have also resolved all the disputes that threatened the operations of the San Carlos Pineapple farm hosted by communities in Awgu and Udi Local Government Areas.

Determined to ensure the availability of safe drinking water to people in the rural areas, Government embarked upon these following projects during the year under review.

Ø The construction of 20No. Indian Mark Shallow boreholes in the following rural communities:

Orjiagu Agbani,

Health Centre Agbani,

Obeagu Eziokwe Amurri,

OnuakpakaVillage Centre, Ogonogo Eji NdiaguAkpugo,

Amafor Village Square, Agbani

Onuobodo Nduno ObunoAkpugo,

Amodu Awkunanaw,

Community Primary School, Obe,

Amankasi EziokweAmurri,

NkwoMarket, Agbani,

Umueze Awkunanaw,

Ngene Orie Ogirishi,

Ugwuafor Health Centre,

Wesley Primary School, Methodist Church Agbani,

Agbaede Ndiuno Akpugo,

Mbogodo,

Umuedum Village Hall, Amankanu Amurri,

Ogirishi Obinagu Uwani Akpugo, all in Nkanu West Local Government Area,

Ø Rehabilitation of water boreholes at Ogonogo-EjiNdiunoAkpugo and NdiunoAkpugo, Nkanu West Local Government.

INDUSTRIAL DEVELOPMENT

In the area of industrial development, I wish to inform you that we have resolved all the bottlenecks militating against the take off of the Enugu State Industrial Park and that, in partnership with Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture and the DFID, we are planning a drive for investors through an investment and economic Summit that we have scheduled to hold next year. We are finding ways to leverage on the presence of an International Airport in Enugu to attract investment and boost tourism.

SPORTS

Having acknowledged Sports as a major avenue for engaging our youth positively, creating jobs, and marketing our State, we are taking steps to return Enugu to its glorious days as the breeding ground for celebrated sports personalities.

In this regard, we have resolved to take immediate steps to reorganize and revive the Rangers International Club- a club that is dear, not only to Ndi Enugu, but also to every Igbo man. We have earlier moved to resolve the impasse between the players and management of the club over unpaid salaries and other entitlements.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT REFORMS

Early in the life of the administration, we set up an 11-man Committee on Local Government Audit and Biometric Data Capture headed by the Speaker of the Enugu State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi. Among others, the Committee’s responsibility is to determine the true staff strength of each of the 17 Local Government Areas, the financial implications of the staff in respect of monthly remunerations of the Enugu State Universal Basic Education Board and the Local Government Pensions Board.

It is our firm belief that the exercise will help to arrest the perennial problem of the ghost worker syndrome and create room for our people to genuinely fill existing vacancies in the system. I am pleased to announce that the exercise is already yielding the desired results and will soon be extended to the school system where we have also observed similar anomalies.

Indeed, it was these problems associated with the current system of administration of local governments and the need to address them promptly and adequately as well as insufficient budgetary provisions, that informed the decision by Enugu State Stakeholders’ at a meeting held on the 28th of November, 2015, to give us the mandate to constitute Caretaker Committees to man the Local Government Councils when the tenure of the current leaderships of the councils expires in January, 2016.

YEAR 2016 BUDGET ESTIMATES

The main thrust of the 2016 budget is in line with my pledge in my inaugural speech on 29thMay this year and I quote, “I recommit myself to employment generation, enhanced social services and good governance, rural development and indeed, security and justice. We will deploy government services to create fair and equal opportunity for every willing citizen to make a living and create wealth, educate our children, and enjoy life in a peaceful and secure environment. We will drive with full force, the investment promotion, agricultural sector renewal, provision of critical infrastructure, human capital development and skill acquisition,’’ unquote.

In order to actualize these noble ideas, prudence and accountability will be our watch word. We are not unmindful of the lean resources across the country due to the nose – diving of oil prices in the international market. We know that with the support of the good people of Enugu State, we will turn the present economic challenges into great opportunities to diversify our economy. Time has come for us to think outside the box and exploit fully the economic potentials of the state. It was for this purpose that we are going to pursue aggressively the exploitation of all potential sources of Internally Generated Revenue in the State. Our promise is however, that this will be pursued in such a manner that it will not inflict much hardship on our people. We are determined to plug all loopholes for revenue leakages in the State in the coming year, and in this vein, we shall fully sustain the Pay-Direct system in all aspects of collection of Government revenue using the Treasury Single Account (TSA) model in the State.My administration also inaugurated the Economic Advisory Committee to advise the State Government on how best to improve the economic activities in the State.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES

The strategies for successful implementation of 2016 budget include but not limited to:

· Diversification of the economy through Private Sector Participation in economic development.

· Transparency and accountability.

· More effective expenditure supervision and control.

· More effective Project Monitoring and Evaluation.

· Institutional reform both at the State and Local Government levels for effective service delivery

YEAR 2016 BUDGET SIZE

Mr. Speaker Sir, Honourable members, considering the present macro-economic climate and other prevailing variables, I hereby present to you our year 2016 Budget of (N85,179,449,000) eighty five billion ,one hundred and seventy nine million, four hundred and forty nine thousand naira. This is lower than the 2015 budget of (N96,735,300,000)ninety six billion, seven hundred and thirty five million, three hundred thousand naira by (N11,555,851,000) eleven billion, five hundred and fifty five million , eight hundred and fifty one thousand naira, which represents a decrease of 12%. The decrease was necessitated by the realities of the times with respect to revenue inflow from Federal Allocation.

Of this budget, a total sum of (N43,735,931,000) forty three billion, seven hundred and thirty five million, nine hundred and thirty one thousand naira representing 51%,is for Recurrent Expenditure as against (N41,795,319,789) forty one billion, seven hundred and ninety five million, three hundred and nineteen thousand, seven hundred eighty nine naira budgeted in 2015 while (N41,443,518,000) forty one billion,four hundred and forty three million, five hundred and eighteen thousand naira which represents 49% is for Capital Expenditure as against (N54,939,980,211) fifty four billion, nine hundred and thirty nine million, nine hundred and eighty thousand, two hundred and eleven naira budgeted for 2015 fiscal year. Further details and comparison with 2015 budget are shown in the table below.

ITEMS

2015 (N)

2016 (N)

Federation Allocation (FAAC)

55,520,000,000

34,415,000,000

Value Added Tax (Tax)

10,650,000,000

9,800,000,000

Independent Revenue (IGR)

19,168,129,700

18,882,415,000

TOTAL RECURRENT REVENUE

85,338,129,700

63,097,415,000

RECURRENT EXPENDITURE

Personnel Cost

26,066,292,852

28,843,291,948

Overhead

10,287,151,880

8,530,986,875

Subvention

5,441,875,057

6,361,652,177

SUB TOTAL

41,795,319,789

43,735,931,000

CAPITAL RECEIPTS

Transfer from Consolidated Revenue Fund

38,020,680,211

19,361,484,000

Aids and Grants

3,800,000,000

3,531,794,000

Public Private Partnership

6,520,000,000

5,952,000,000

Domestic Loans/Borrowing Receipts

2,000,000,000

7,900,000,000

International Loans/Borrowing Receipts

4,599,300,000

4,698,240,000

TOTAL

54,939,980,211

41,443,518,000

CAPITAL EXPENDITURE SUMMARY BY SECTORS

Administration Sector

4,033,682,315

2,419,341,957

Economic Sector

36,206,702,600

28,973,997,982

Law & Justice Sector

752,146,005

777,800,000

Regional Sector

471,000,000

405,700,000

Social Sector

13,476,449,291

8,866,678,061

TOTAL

54,939,980,211

41,443,518,000

BUDGET SIZE

96,735,300,000

85,179,449,000

2016 RECURRENT REVENUE

Permit me to substantiate the above the following details. In 2016, Government expects a Recurrent Revenue of (N63,097,415,000) sixty three billion, ninety seven million, four hundred and fifteen thousand naira as against (N85,338,129,700) eighty five billion, three hundred and thirty eight million, one hundred and twenty nine thousand, seven hundred naira forecasted in 2015. Government intends to realize this amount through aggressive Internally Generated Revenue drive which is estimated to yield (N18, 882,415,000) eighteen billion, eight hundred and eighty two million, four hundred and fifteen thousand naira, representing 29.93% of total recurrent revenue and a projected share from the Federal Revenue estimated at (N44,215,000,000) forty four billion, two hundred and fifteen million naira which accounts for 70.07% of the total projected Recurrent Revenue.

2016 RECURRENT EXPENDITURE

The estimated Recurrent Expenditure is (N43,735,931,000)forty three billion, seven hundred and thirty five million, nine hundred and thirty one thousand naira. Out of this amount, (N28, 843,291,948)twenty eight billion, eight hundred and forty three million, two hundred and ninety one thousand, nine hundred and forty eight naira, which represents 65.95% is for personnel costs, including Consolidated Revenue Fund Charges. A total of (N8,530,986,875)eight billion, five hundred and thirty million, nine hundred and eighty six thousand, eight hundred and seventy five naira, representing 19.5% is for overhead cost while (N6,361,652,177)six billion, three hundred and sixty one million, six hundred and fifty two thousand, one hundred and seventy seven naira, represents14.55% for subvention to parastatals and tertiary institutions.

2016 CAPITAL EXPENDITURE

Mr. Speaker Sir, and Honourable members, permit me to inform you that the sum of (N41,443,518,000) forty one billion, four hundred and forty three million, five hundred and eighteen thousand naira, which is 48.65% of the budget size is appropriated for capital expenditure in the year 2016. It is not my intention to bore you with the details of sectoral allocations since they are contained in the comprehensive budget proposal. I shall only offer brief explanations on some of them so that we can all be abreast of the guiding philosophy which informed the spirit of the allocation.

WORKS AND INFRASTRUCTURE

In the area of road construction, we have already keyed-in to the goal of the immediate past administration to make every community in Enugu State accessible by road. In this regard, we will consolidate on the achievements in road construction and rehabilitation by striving to complete all on–going urban and rural roads while new ones will be awarded soonest. By this way, we will enhance rapid socio- economic transformation of the entire State.

It was for this purpose that Ministry of Works and Infrastructure received an allocation of N20.442 billion in 2016 budget representing 49.3% of the entire Capital Budget as against N21.625 billion allocated to the ministry in 2015 budget. This allocation will take care of the on- going urban road rehabilitation at Enugu, Nsukka and other urban areas of Enugu State.

Mr. Speaker Sir, Honourable members as I address this August Assembly, contractors are already physically at work in different sites for the road projects recently awarded by the State Government as earlier mentioned in this Budget.

AGRICULTURE

This Administration will invest heavily in material and human capital development in agriculture knowing full well that the sector holds bright prospects for the much- desired food security and employment of our growing youth population. Efforts will be made to consolidate and improve on the achievements of the previous administration in Enugu Songhai Initiative, Enugu San Carlos Pineapple Program, World Bank assisted Commercial Agriculture and FADAMA Projects. Attention will also be given to Enugu State Polytechnic, Iwollo which is expected to produce the agricultural manpower needs of the State. The Agriculture sub-sector received an allocation of the sum of N1.317 billion.

We will leverage on Public Private Partnership (PPP) to boost the production of key staple crops such as rice, oil palm and cashew.

HEALTH

There are enough good reasons to justify the level of expenditure being planned by this administration regarding the health of our people. It is often said that health is wealth and for this reason a healthy nation is a wealthy nation.

It was against this background that we flagged off construction of 100-bed (expandable 200) highly specialized hospital at the onset of this administration. The on-going free Maternal and Child Healthcare Programme will be sustained.

The Enugu Diagnostic Centre started by the immediate past administration, when completed, will make Enugu the centre of excellence in health services. It is in recognition of the prime place that health commands in the well-being of the good people of Enugu State that made us to set aside the sum of N3 billion for the Health sub-sector. This allocation is for Ministry of Health, ESUT College of Medicine Teaching Hospital) and Enugu State Action Committee on Aids (ENSACA).

EDUCATION

Education remains the most prized possession of every child in Enugu State and for this reason, Education shall occupy a priority position in this administration. The on–going free education from primary to junior Secondary School III will be sustained. Both the tertiary and lower education institutions in the State will be funded to provide qualitative education to our people. In 2016, education will receive a total vote of N4.089billion. The above sum covers allocations made for the Ministry of Education, State Universal Basic Education Board (ENSUBEB), Enugu State College of Education Technical, Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT), Institute of Management and Technology IMT, Post Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB), Enugu State Science, Technical and Vocational School Board and Enugu State Scholarship and Education Loans Board.

INDUSTRY

The proposed First Investment and Economic Summit coming up in March, 2016 is designed to showcase the investment opportunities in the state and thereby attract investors. Enugu State is known for her rich mineral deposits especially coal deposit which is the largest in Nigeria and its quality compares with the best in the world. Other minerals that can be found in the State include oil and gas, limestone, clay, copper, bauxite, glass sand, gypsum etc. This administration is disposed to partner with private investors that will be interested in exploiting these mineral deposits. This will invariably create job opportunities for our youths and as well as increase the revenue base of the State. Efforts will also be made to partner with private investors to revive the moribund industries in the State. In the coming year, the sum of N132.1 million is allocated to Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

RURAL DEVELOPMENT

Rural Development is one of our priorities in the new 4-Point Agenda. Our goal in the integrated rural development programme is to provide a range of infrastructure in the rural communities. The target to provide electricity to every community in Enugu State is still on course. This was started by the past administration and we are going to complete it. To accomplish this goal, the sum of N789 million was allocated to Rural Electrification Board while N745 million was mapped for other community development activities in 2016 Budget. However, we have also made adequate provision for payment of counterpart fund contribution for all the Donor and World Bank Assisted Projects in the State so as to compliment out efforts towards developing our dear State.

HOUSING

The need to provide comfortable and affordable houses to the teaming population of our people cannot be over emphasized. We are already partnering with the Federal Mortgage Bank and the private institutions in this regard. Through this partnership we were able to provide 100 housing units to 100 civil servants and by the coming year, we hope to do more. The sum of N737.5million was allocated to Ministry of Housing in 2016 Budget.

WATER

Water remains one of the indispensable basic needs of life and for this reason, our desire to provide portable water to our urban and rural dwellers in the State will not be compromised. In this regard, the existing water schemes at Enugu and Nsukka Urban will be sustained and expanded. Attention will also be given to small Town Water Projects and Rural Water and Sanitation Agency. The sum of N661million was budgeted for urban and rural water for 2016. This allocation is for the State Ministry of Water Resources, Water Corporation and Rural Water and Sanitation Agency (ENRUWASSA).

CONCLUSION

Mr. Speaker Sir, Honourable members, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, here lie our dreams for 2016 to take Enugu State to the next level. As you can see, our dreams are tall but the purse is lean. In fact, it is the lowest Budget for the State in the past few years. Therefore, in times like this, we must change our ways of doing things if we are going to take a giant stride and achieve the expected results.

I have come to place this budget proposal before all of you, being certain that our collective commitment to positively touching the lives of the generality of the good people of Enugu State shall be our guiding principle at all times.

Therefore, I am leaving here confident that as partners in progress, you will give this proposal accelerated consideration and passage so that we can begin to implement its provisions in earnest by early next year.

For the good people of Enugu State, I solicit everyone’s support and understanding as the Government is striving to cope with the challenges of economic meltdown. The situation demands for sacrifice from all of us.

Since we are already in the month of December, I gladly wish you all merry Christmas in advance and happy, prosperous year 2016 ahead.

Finally, I wish once again to thank this Honourable House for according us the vibrant and vital cooperation and support needed to drive our collective aspiration for our dear state, to fruition. I thank you for listening. God bless you all and bless Enugu State.